GALENA - The decision to try pitching has paid off with a college commitment to Western Illinois for Griffin White.

“I didn’t start pitching until I was a freshman,” the Olentangy Berlin senior reflected. “Up until then I had never pitched before, I was only a first baseman. But in the fall going into my freshman year my travel organization hired Mike Stafford and I can’t thank him enough.

“My mom said he was doing pitching lessons and asked if I wanted to try it,” White continued. “Obviously the first time I was a little shaky but I kept going back and trusting it and everything worked out.”

The summer before becoming a junior at Olentangy Berlin is when Western Illinois made contact with White.

“They wanted me to come to a camp and I ended up going and performed really well,” the 38th-ranked 2023 right-handed pitcher in Ohio said. “I topped at 88-89 and they called me the next day and offered.”

A year later the hard-throwing White decided to make Western Illinois his college choice.

“I knew I’d take the winter and spring and enjoy the high school season and not stress out about my recruitment,” White related. “We just stayed in contact until I made my commitment.”

There were other colleges that were considered as well.

“A lot of schools showed an interest and came to watch me play,” White noted. “There were some preferred walk-on opportunities.”

But the 96th-rated senior in the state liked what Western Illinois had to offer.

“I took a visit in November and really loved it and didn’t want to pass it up,” White said. “(Head) Coach (Tayler) Sheriff  has a special thing going on there. They’re on the rise and they’re going to be competitive. It’s a college town with a beautiful campus.”

Western Illinois saw a lot of promise in the 6-5 215-pounder.

“They like my projectability,” White explained. “They said I have a lot more in the tank and my change-up is really going to be good.”

And to think just a few years earlier White was a left-handed hitting first baseman.

“I recognized going into my freshman year that I wanted to play college baseball,” White related. “That’s when it became a reality and I said this is my goal and what I wanted to do. My passion for the sport kept growing and I fell in love with it.”

Hard work came into play.

“The weight room and arm care,” White said of what helped him improve. “I take arm care very seriously. I threw as much as I could with long toss and bands and I’m also big on doing sprints.”

Help came along the way in making his college dream come true.

“PBR did a lot for me with the organization scout days,” White noted. “In the summer of 2021 I went to the Top Prospect Games and the exposure there was unreal.”

While rather new to pitching, White is confident about his ability to make an impact in the Summit League program.

 “I’m a pitcher who’s going to work,” White said. “I’m someone who will be able to throw all his pitches on all counts and give my team a chance to win.”

To finally make a decision on college relieved a lot of tension according to the 17-year-old.

“It definitely took weight off the shoulders to not have to worry about being recruited,” White admitted. “I felt a lot more free going out and just playing.”

A 3.6 student at Olentangy Berlin, White is leaning toward a major in either business or education at the college in Macomb, Illinois, seven hours and 15 minutes away from home.

“I’m looking forward to going out and playing in a competitive conference,” White concluded. “I’m looking for us to compete to win the conference and maybe get to regionals or super regionals … maybe the College World Series.”